Let's have a look at what Mr. Rathgeber has to say in his own words...$1:
Clearly, the Government’s decision not to support my Private Member’s Bill on CBC and Public Sector disclosure and transparency in Committee was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back; however, this decision and my comfort level in caucus has been evolving for at least a year when I first spoke out against Ministerial opulence in a blog entitled “Of Orange Juice and Limos.”
Recent allegations concerning expense scandals and the Government’s response has been extremely troubling. I joined the Reform/conservative movements because I thought we were somehow different, a band of Ottawa outsiders riding into town to clean the place up, promoting open government and accountability. I barely recognize ourselves, and worse I fear that we have morphed into what we once mocked.
My constituents demand better. My constituents simply do not care what somebody, who they hope will never become Prime Minister, did or didn’t do seventeen years ago. They do care, however, about the relations between a sitting Senator and Langevin Block (PMO). For a government that was elected on a platform of accountability, my constituents are gravely disappointed. They appreciate human frailty but when a group misses its self-proclaimed standards, a little contrition and humility not blust and blunder, is the expectation. To say that we are somehow better than the other guys is similarly woefully inadequate. If we are measuring our ethical performance against the Sponsorship Scandalized Liberals, perhaps we need to set our ethical bar a little higher.
I have reluctantly come to the inescapable conclusion that the Government’s lack of support for my transparency bill is tantamount to a lack of support for transparency and open government generally. The government chose to gut my transparency bill despite not a single witness testifying at the Access Committee in support of either eviscerating amendment. The Committee hearings (as all are) were a charade. The decisions on amendments were made by unelected staffers weeks before the Committee hearings even commenced. Compliant MPs just do what they are told by PMO staffers. That the PMO operates so opaquely and routinely without supervision is an affront to the constitutional requirements of responsible government and is also the genesis of the current Duffy/Wright debacle.
I still support and greatly respect the Prime Minister; I continue to question the decisions and actions of many of his advisors. I will continue to support the government generally, but not unequivocally. I will deploy my independent vote on a case by case, issue by issue basis. I will support the Government when warranted—which incidentally was always my understanding of the proper role of a Government Backbencher, save for in matters of Confidence.
Responsible government is what this is all about, folks. The principle of government is that the Premier or Prime Minister and his or her Cabinet have to keep the confidence of the legislature in order to be able to govern. Members of Parliament are responsible for keeping the government on its toes. This includes members of the Prime Minister or Premier's own party ensuring that the leaders don't overstep their bounds or become quasi-dictatorial.
The principle goes back to before Confederation, when guys like Robert Baldwin, Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Joseph Howe fought against unaccountable colonial rulers to establish responsible government in Canada. Those guys are the fathers of Canadian democracy. It's a sign of how far things have fallen when strict party discipline keeps the majority of MPs muzzled and the Premier or Prime Minister has little in the way of checks on his or her authority. Compare this to the United Kingdom, where even members of the Prime Minister's own party can and often do get the chance to put him and his Cabinet ministers on the hot seat and ask questions of their own, not just repeating talking points.
Brent Rathgeber did what he felt he had to do on behalf of his constituents. As one of those constituents, I feel that he made the right decision and I am very proud to have him as my Member of Parliament.
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